


i never saw you coming (and i'll never be the same)

by norenvevo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort?, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, NCT Dream Ensemble-centric, Resentment, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, it's not that bad tho, this will do for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22932991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/norenvevo/pseuds/norenvevo
Summary: Two boys transfer to their school in the middle of the year and draw the attention of a group of friends who, determined to find out the motive behind such an atypical event as well as the new students’ identities, end up finding out that they know them better than they expected.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, past Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Huang Ren Jun
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys, so this is a translation of a fanfic that i originally wrote in portuguese when i was too bored to pay attention in class and couldn’t read any fanfics at the time so i decided to write my own lol. english is not my first language so there might be some mistakes and some word/expression choices that might sound unnatural bc i’m translating it and i tend to do it literally despite trying not to, so… don’t mind it pls or just point it out and i’ll try to make it better  
> (also!!! keep in mind that where i’m from, in brazil, our school year usually starts in feb or mar, then we have winter break during jun/jul and then summer break in dec! and our classrooms and classmates don’t change from subject to subject, it’s usually always the same… idk if i’m gonna keep it like that but it’s very likely)  
> anyways, i hope you enjoy it!

It was just another ordinary day in the month of May when Mark, Jeno and Jaemin - as well as the rest of their class - were surprised by the sudden admission of two new students. As if one transfer in the middle of the school year wasn’t odd enough, there were two of them.

The boys entered the classroom as soon as the teacher gestured for them to do so, right after announcing them. The smaller one walked in stumbling after the taller one, having been pulled by him. He seemed terrified to be standing there in front of everyone, but the other seemed pretty confident, maintaining a friendly smile on his lips while he took turns facing the other students and sending encouraging glances to his own friend.

Mark and Jaemin exchanged curious looks while Jeno watched the scene, mesmerized by it.

“Would you like to introduce yourselves?”, the teacher asked with a sympathetic smile.  
To what Renjun answered by shaking his head, Hyuck took a step to the center of the classroom, distancing himself from his friend for a second before Renjun followed after him, hiding behind his back.

“I’m Lee Donghyuck, and this,” he pointed to the silhouette behind himself, “is Renjun”.

“Very well, boys. You can now sit” the teacher nodded, getting up from her chair to start writing on the blackboard.

Donghyuck then guided Renjun to the back of the classroom, sitting side by side. While Mark and Jaemin whispered something between themselves, Jeno’s gaze followed the new boys, only diverting the attention from them when Jaemin noticed his behavior and slapped him on the arm.

“Ouch!”, Jeno protested, rubbing where he was hit, “What was that for?”

“The least you could do is be discreet”, Jaemin rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Jeno retorted, turning his attention back to the front of the class.

“Huh, right”, Jaemin elbowed Mark, seeking a support that didn’t come.  
Turning to him, he noticed that he too had his attention drawn by the newcomers. Rolling his eyes, he snapped his fingers in his friend’s face, “Oh no, not you too!”

“Oh, shut up!” Mark lightly shoved him, turning to face the blackboard.

In the back, Renjun and Hyuck were oblivious to rest of the class, although some eyes still lingered on them.

• 

As Jeno picked up his phone a few minutes before lunch break, he realized Jaemin had already broken the news to Jisung and Chenle.

nana:  
you guys won’t guess what happened

sung:  
what is it now

lele:  
oh no  
here we go

nana:  
there are two new students in our class???

lele:  
wait what  
what do u mean  
but we’re like in the middle of the school year

sung:  
wtf??

nana:  
ikr????  
i think they’re boyfriends

At that, Jeno frowned, looking up to the mentioned pair, scrutinizing them for a moment before turning his attention back to his phone.

sung:  
thats odd  
why do you think they changed schools?

nana:  
idk  
but i’m gonna find out  
hehe

sung:  
oh no jaemin  
dont

lele:  
maybe i can help

sung:  
chenle no  
we have to study  
we have a math exam on thursday

lele:  
chill out pls

nana:  
thanks lele  
we’ll talk during break

sung:  
-.-

Jeno locked his phone and, a second later, the bell rang, followed by the sound of chairs scraping against the floor as well as the loud and hurried steps of the students who were too eager to leave the classroom.

Before Jeno even got up, he spotted Jisung and Chenle squeezing themselves in between the students who were leaving to, unlike them, enter the classroom. However, as soon as Chenle’s eyes found Renjun, they widened. Jeno automatically followed his line of sight, but Renjun was still oblivious to the younger boy’s presence, at least until a second later. He looked up, his gaze sweeping the room until he found Chenle, a mix of emotions flickering behind his eyes. Jeno could tell apart panic and… anger? He looked back to his friend, realizing there was only his group and the pair of newcomers left in the classroom, all of them aware of the tension filling the room. Donghyuck cleared his throat and, with impressive speed, dragged Renjun out to the hallway. Renjun scowled at Chenle when he passed him by and the younger gulped, turning to his friends, who were watching everything in silence, as soon as the other left.

“Okay, now _what_ was that?”, Jaemin inquired, getting up from his chair and advancing in his younger friends’ direction. Mark and Jeno followed him.

“He is…”, Chenle started, seemingly shocked, “my cousin’s boyfriend?”, it seemed more like a question than a statement.

“Hendery’s?” Mark asked and they all exchanged looks, eyes slightly widened.

“But…”, Jaemin shook his head, speaking more to himself than to the others, “that makes no sense. Why did he seem so mad at you? And who’s the other guy, then?”

“I have no idea? And I don’t know who the other is. The only times I saw Renjun, it was only him and Hendery.”

“What if…” Jisung spoke, deep in thoughts, “What if they broke up and this is his new boyfriend?”

Chenle furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Jisung like he had said something absurd.

“No, of course not”, he then looked to his other friends, but as they all seemed to ponder Jisung’s idea, he lost a bit of confidence, “Do you really think so? But they seemed so in love…”

“I mean,” Jisung continued, “That would also explain why he had that reaction to you.”

“Yeah, that makes sense”, Mark shook his head in agreement, contemplating.

“But that doesn’t prove anything, we can’t be sure”, Jeno interjected.

“But we can find out”, Jaemin concluded with a mischievous expression, leaving the room without another word.

The others exchanged looks one last time before following right after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i am so very sorry it took me 8 months to update this fanfic.  
> crazy to think that when i posted the first chapter we were yet to be hit by this pandemic.  
> anyways. i'm just glad to still be here and get to share this story with you.  
> i really hope you like it.  
> (reminder that english is not my first language so pls do let me know if you find any mistakes)

Much to Jaemin’s dismay, the intriguing pair was nowhere to be found. He was keen on looking further, but his friends’ growing impatience and hunger led them to give up on the mission. He considered continuing on his own, but not too long after his group abandoned him, his own stomach started growling too, so he quit.

He tried not to look too dejected as he made his way to his friends’ table, and he was thankful they were too invested in their own food and whatever small talk they were making to notice how bad of a job he was doing at it.

Before he could even open his mouth, Jeno shoved a sandwich in his hand which he gratefully took and immediately unwrapped. After a few bites had already sat in his stomach, he cleared his throat.

“We obviously need a plan. I’ll figure something out and text you all later today”, he announced.

Mark nodded, looking rather absentminded.

“Yeah, whatever” Jeno answered as he got up to throw the tin foil in the nearest bin.

“I’ll try to think of something too”, Chenle added.

“Don’t you have a family gathering coming up this weekend?”, Jisung contemplated, finishing his apple.

“I do, actually”, Chenle answered.

That caught Jaemin’s attention. “I know you’re not that close, but couldn’t you just go up to him and ask?”

“To be honest, I’m pretty sure it’ll come up naturally. But yeah, I guess I can try to get a hold of him”, Chenle mumbled, not seeming too excited with the prospect.

• 

When the trio walked back into the classroom, Renjun and Donghyuck were already in their seats. They were quiet, Donghyuck was distracted writing something in his notebook and didn’t notice their return.

Renjun, on the other hand, could see them walk in, even followed them with his gaze, but seemed pretty apathetic to it and lazily looked away as soon as he noticed Jeno staring back.

The rest of the classes and the day went pretty uneventful, even Jaemin surprisingly behaved. The only supposedly interesting thing that happened was the comforting hand Donghyuck kept on Renjun’s shoulder for most of the time Jeno stole glances at them when he pretended to check the time on the wall clock above their heads.

And luckily they managed to leave the school gates without another awkward encounter between the two chinese boys.

• 

As soon as they were at least two blocks away from school, Renjun let out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. Donghyuck immediately looked up to his friend, putting an arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer.

“Come on, Injunnie. I’ve already told you it’s okay. It wasn’t that bad.”

Renjun scoffed, “Right, I only just snapped at my ex’s cousin who happens to be enrolled at the school I transferred to in order to escape said ex. No biggie.”

“It was an automatic response, you said it yourself. Just let it go. Do you want me to buy you an ice cream?”, he stepped in front of his friend and took his hand, a slight pout on his lips.

Renjun eased at that, giving his friend a tired but genuine smile. “No, Hyuckie. It’s fine. Maybe another time. Now I just wanna get home.”

Donghyuck seemed distracted with something behind Renjun for a moment before he nodded as he smiled in return, going back to his side and swinging their intertwined hands. “Okay, then.”

• 

Mark halted his steps as he turned the street corner, being met with the sight of the two newcomers in what seemed like an intimate moment.

They were at a enough distance that the boys didn’t notice his presence, and it’s not like there weren’t other people around, even if on the opposite sidewalk, but Mark still felt like he was intruding.

Not knowing what to do, he grabbed his phone from his back pocket and pretended to be busy with it.

Initially he hadn’t felt as invested in the duo as his friends seemed to be, but seeing their dynamics firsthand and retelling the stories he’d heard of Chenle’s cousin and his boyfriend in his head, he was definitely intrigued now.

He was in the midst of scrolling through his Instagram feed and pondering about how Chenle had never shown them a picture of Renjun before when he decided to chance a glance up.

The pair were now farther away and back to walking, but they were still going in the same direction as Mark, which elicited a groan from the boy as he begrudgingly took a detour, not even aware as to why he was so set on avoiding the two.

• 

As they crossed the street, Donghyuck took the whole looking around as an excuse to distractedly look back but their classmate was no longer behind them. He frowned but decided to let it go, tuning back into what Renjun was saying.

• 

He was about 10 minutes away from Renjun’s house, where they departed, when his phone buzzed with a new notification. It was a message from his dad.

Father:  
Son, we have to visit your grandmother tomorrow.

He immediately began typing a response, exasperated with the prospect of skipping his second day of school and, even worse, leaving Renjun alone, but before he could send it, another message popped up.

Father:  
Trust me, I know. I wouldn’t ask it of you if it wasn’t important.

Damn it. He sighed and sent an “okay” back before returning his phone to his pocket. He kept walking while thinking of what to say to Renjun and how to convince the boy to still attend school without him, which must’ve really distracted him because the next thing he knows he’s bumping into someone’s back.

He looked up with round eyes and an apology ready on his tongue, but as the other person turned around and he recognized them as his classmate from earlier, it died on it.

“Oh”, he said instead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a new chapter in less than a week? i did that!  
> anyways, hope you enjoy it 🥰

jaemin:  
so  
since chenle is seeing his cousin soon  
we can put our plans on hold  
depending on how it goes we might not even need them anymore

Mark had just finished reading Jaemin’s text messages when someone clashed against his back. He immediately turned and was met with Donghyuck’s momentarily apologetic face. Momentarily because, as he seemed to take in his identity, it morphed into wariness. It kinda irked Mark. He cleared his throat.

“Yes?” he raised his brows questioningly. “You mean to say you’re sorry?”

Now, Donghyuck liked to think he was a sensible person that was always more rational than anything else and who wouldn’t jump into conclusions so easily. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but let that part of him be overpowered by his overprotectiveness of Renjun and, with everything that had happened, he couldn’t help but use that as an excuse for the suspicion he felt for his classmate now. The other’s defensive stance didn’t help his case either. So that’s what Donghyuck used to mentally justify what came out of his mouth next.

“Shouldn’t you be saying that?” he raised a single defiant eyebrow and crossed his arms.

Mark then furrowed his brows and scoffed. “What?”

“Stalking and sneaking up on people is not cool, you know.” He studied Mark with a hard gaze.

Mark stared back at him for a moment, his eyes wide and mouth agape. As he blinked slowly Donghyuck swore he could see the gears in his head turning. He didn’t get why he seemed so genuinely confused, but Donghyuck refused to back down.

“What are you even talking about?”

“I saw you back then, with your phone on your hands. Did you get a good picture? Isn’t everyone tired by now? It’s not like other scandals”, Donghyuck air quoted to emphasize the word, “haven’t come up since then. Is it Chenle? Is it because he’s only getting to catch up on the fun now?” He spat, almost going breathless. He didn’t even know why he got so worked up. Maybe he was just tired. Renjun deserved better.

Mark was stunned. Part of him just wanted to snap back at Donghyuck for unjustly accusing him and his friends because, although they were curious about the duo and could sometimes be quite extra when they were that invested in something, a lot of what Donghyuck was throwing at him felt like projection. But the other, bigger and louder part of him was just too understanding and could clearly see the hurt in the other boy. So he decided to drop his guard and, taking a deep breath, he spoke:

“Look,” he ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t know what you think you saw but it’s not what you’re thinking. We would never do anything like that”. Mark gestured lazily, not knowing how to get his point across. He barely understood what he was supposed to defend himself against. Damn it, they had barely done anything so far. 

He looked up hesitantly, holding Donghyuck’s gaze and hoping he seemed sincere. It must have worked because the other boy seemed to have lost a bit of his attitude. He scrutinized Mark for a moment longer and then he sighed, waving his hand around in a dismissive gesture.

“Forget about it.” Was all he said before he swerved around Mark’s body and walked away.

“What the…” Mark muttered, shaking his head.

He looked back to his phone and contemplated sharing what just happened with the others, but for some reason he decided against it.

• 

Jeno threw his backpack in a corner and flopped down on his bed as soon as he got to his room. He felt more tired than usual and it was only Monday. It was probably his brain anticipating the stress he always involuntarily felt when Jaemin made the group engage in shenanigans.

As if on cue, his phone screen lit up with notifications from said boy.

nana:  
so

nana:  
since chenle is seeing his cousin soon

nana:  
we can put our plans on hold

nana:  
depending on how it goes we might not even need them anymore

He sighed in relief for being spared from a night filled with scheming, but he should’ve known it was too soon to chant victory. He hadn’t even heard footsteps approaching when his door opened wide and in came a beaming Jaemin. He collapsed beside him on the bed and snaked his arms around his middle.

“Nono~” Jaemin called in his baby voice.

“Who even let you in?” Jeno groaned and tried to push him away.

Jaemin tightened his hold on him and rubbed his head against Jeno’s chest like a cat. “Your mom, of course.” Not that Jeno actually expected an answer since he already knew it. “Anyways, I just came by to remind you that we have English Literature tomorrow and rumour has it we’ll be assigned a project that’ll be worth a third of our grade and it’s gonna be in pairs, so you know who to choose as your partner.” He batted his eyelashes at Jeno.

Jeno rolled his eyes. “How do you even know that shit? And you’re way too comfortable with leaving Mark to the wolves.”

“Ah Jeno, come on,” Jaemin whined, “you know he’d do better by himself than we ever could even together”.

“Excuse me?” Jeno feigned hurt.

It was Jaemin’s turn to roll his eyes, topping it with a light punch to Jeno’s shoulder. “Stop being difficult. Anyways, we have a deal.” He then let go of Jeno’s torso and got up in a jump. “See you early tomorrow and don’t forget to do your Chemistry homework because I need the answers.” He winked and made finger guns at his friend.

“Like you’re not getting Mark’s anyways.” Jeno muttered as Jaemin made his way out.

• 

Donghyuck slumped down in a kitchen chair.

“I’m s-”

“AHHH!” He startled, putting his hands over his accelerated heart as he turned his head to shoot his father an angry look. “Are you kidding me?!”

His father looked like he was putting a lot of effort into not laughing. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for making you miss school so soon.”

“Right.” Donghyuck muttered, still offended. “What is so urgent by the way?”

“You see…” his dad started, suddenly sounding serious. “Your grandmother’s beloved dog passed away.”

Donghyuck gasped, dropping his eyes to the table as he felt dread slowly engulf him.

“I know.” His father offered him a sad smile. “Have you told Renjun yet?”

“No… Not yet.” He followed the tablecloth intricate patterns with the tip of his fingers as he tried to process the bomb his father just dropped on him. “But I will, of course.” He added as an afterthought.

• 

It was 10pm when Renjun received the terrifying news by text message.

Hyuck:  
injunnie  
i’m really sorry but  
i won’t be able to go to school tomorrow

Renjun:   
well   
me neither then 🤪

Hyuck:  
no renjun  
you’re going  
😠 

Renjun:   
you know i wont

Hyuck:  
renjun…  
i’m serious  
don’t 

Renjun:   
i’m serious too

Hyuck:  
what was our deal?  
you have to make an effort  
put yourself out there 

Renjun:   
it’s too soon :(

Hyuck:  
i know you’re smart enough to know that there’s no perfect moment  
you have to take the leap 

Renjun:  
i cant believe you’re pulling this fake deep shit on me

Hyuck:  
its not fake tho  
you know its true  
and i know you can do it  
it’ll be fine  
you’re great  
just try smiling more  
scaring people away less 

Renjun:   
u’re so annoying   
i’ll just end up pathetically alone   
like a loser   
but ok   
if you insist

Hyuck:  
i do  
now go get your beauty sleep  
so you’ll look great and make some new friends 

Renjun:   
i’ll only do that so i can drop this conversation

Hyuck:  
yeah right  
try not missing me too much 

Renjun:   
bye

Hyuck:  
❤️

He rolled his eyes and locked his phone. He felt his stomach sink at the thought of going to school on his own. What was he even supposed to do? He knew Donghyuck meant well by pushing him out of his comfort zone, but he really had no idea how to cope or behave or even just exist out of it at this point. And yeah, maybe the point was exactly to find out, but he couldn’t help dreading it.

He sighed and tried to push away the anxiety that was slowly but surely overtaking his nerves. It would be fine. What’s the worst thing that could happen anyway? It’s not like one of his worst-case scenarios hadn’t already happened anyway, and he’d survived that, so maybe Donghyuck wasn’t wrong when he said he could do this.

He knew himself too well to risk dwelling on it any longer, so once he planted the barely convincing but extremely necessary idea that he could survive the next school day without his best friend by his side in his head, he decided to completely drop the subject and distract himself with the newest episode of a drama Donghyuck insisted he needed to watch. 

And when he realized he hadn’t asked said boy what it was that was gonna keep him so adamantly busy the next day, it was already too late into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> leave kudos if you liked it and please let me know what u think 🥺


End file.
